


It's Not Fair

by InuShiek



Category: Ranma 1/2
Genre: Angst, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gender Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 06:01:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18685570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InuShiek/pseuds/InuShiek
Summary: Ranma has been jokingly doused in water too many times, and he's had it. Akane finds him while he's upset and he vents his frustration to her.





	It's Not Fair

**Author's Note:**

> Just started re-watching the show, and I wanted to post a quick little something.
> 
> As a kid, I never realized just how sexist, transphobic, and homophobic the show can be..... So that's been an unfortunate discovery. I tried to write this from a better view point than the show itself.

Ranma punches the practice dummy again, growling in anger. His knuckles hurt, but he can't bring himself to stop. If he stops, he'll have to find some other way to vent.

Six times.

Six times he's found himself soaking wet, cold, and hearing laughter.

Six times _today_. 

"It's not fair!!" He yells through gritted teeth, kicking the wooden dummy this time. "I didn't ask for this!"

He angrily shoves his red hair out of his face. It's bad enough that he can _feel_ how wrong this body is for him. He doesn't want to see it, too.

Ranma punches the dummy harder than ever, and this time he feels that the skin on his knuckles is close to splitting. "I'm a boy!" He protests to the empty training yard. Ranma kicks the training dummy hard enough to dislodge it from the ground this time.

"Ranma! You're going to fix that!" Akane scolds as she approaches. She stops short when she sees the red head's shoulder trembling. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Go away, Akane," Ranma forces out, choking to hold back tears. Apparently, if he can't hit something, his body has decided that crying is the next best thing. "Just... Go away."

Akane's anger is immediately replaced by worry. "What's going on? Ranma, what happened?"

Ranma growls, nails digging into his palms. "It's not fair. It's not _fair_."

The girl blinks, confused. Akane slowly approaches Ranma and places a hand on the red head's shoulder. "Ranma?"

"I didnt ask to be cursed! I didn't ask for any of this!" Ranma shouts, finally spinning around to face his fiance. "Fearing sudden rainstorms and sprinkler systems is bad enough, but everyone thinks this is hilarious!! No one splashes Pop on purpose! They just splash me and laugh! Like I'm a joke!" 

Ranma's voice breaks as he beging crying in earnest. "I'm a boy. I'm a BOY. What right do any of you have to take that away from me for a laugh!? I'm not here for anyone's entertainment," he forces out before he finally buries his face in his small hands and tries to wipe away the tears. "I didn't ask for this..."

"Oh, Ranma...." Akane whispers, shocked to see him like this. He's always shouted and complained when he's be splashed with water, but it never occurred to her that he was genuinely upset by it. "You always seemed like walking around in this form didn't bother you..." she offers lamely.

"When it's MY idea! MY choice!" Ranma yells, suddenly glaring up at Akane. "That gymnastics thing? Sure. To get the boys at school to leave you alone? Fine. But that's my choice. I can choose this for myself! I don't need you, your sisters, Pop, or _anyone_ to do this to me without my say so!

"I'm a boy, and I don't deserve to have anyone force me to be something I'm not! It's not fair! What did I do to deserve to have everyone use me as a joke? Huh, Akane? It's not.... It's not fair!" Ranma yells, gasping for air as the tears roll hot down his face.

He doesn't mind his girl form, not really. It can come in handy pretty often, actually. But being splashed so Akane's sisters can play dress-up with him as their doll? Being splashed so his father can justify making him clean their shared bedroom while shaming him for not being a boy? Being splashed so Nabiki can take photos of his body to sell? Being splashed so everyone can get a kick out of seeing boys swoon over him?

"It's not fair...." He forces out, strangled by his sobs.

Akane suddenly yanks Ranma into a tight hug. She feels the cursed boy grab tightly onto her shirt and bury his face in her shoulder. She's reminded of the last time she'd seen Ranma so upset. It was when they were trying to learn to ice skate, and Ranma had doused himself with water because he felt less embarrassed that way. But the red head had drawn the attention of Mikado, and he'd forced a kiss on Ranma.

Ranma had been genuinely upset- enraged, even, by the kiss. Upon returning home, everyone including Akane herself had waved it off saying "well, you were a girl so it didn't count." Only Ranma never saw himself as a girl. He'd been appearing as one to make himself more comfortable while learning to skate, but he'd never _been_ a girl at any point. To have everyone ignore his being upset and heap more insult on top of it by insisting that Ranma's desires must obviously change along with his physical form...

"Ranma..... I'm sorry. We shouldn't be treating you like that. I didn't realize how difficult it must be-"

"I don't need your pity," Ranma interrupts without lifting his head from Akane's shoulder.

"Not pity- an apology. It must be difficult when we treat you so differently based on your form. You're always a boy, and we've been ignoring that. You're right," Akane says, raising a hand to rest on the back of Ranma's head. "And we shouldn't be changing what you look like without your permission. I should have realized...."

Ranma sniffs, tightening his grip on Akane's shirt. "I...really don't mind when it's called for. And I don't mind you treating me like a girl when you have to like when I'm playing decoy before school for you or something," he mumbles before finally raising his head to look directly at Akane's chin. "Just......cut it out when I get caught in the rain and it's just us, or whatever. When no one else is around..."

Akane nods, "You got it. Hey, while we're here, stop making fun of me being a tomboy."

Ranma startles, meeting Akane's gaze directly this time. Then the red head smiles, "You got a deal!"


End file.
